IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


"■■  la  iio 


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U    11.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Faatures  of  this 
copy  which  may  bf>  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□ 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 


Q 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


/I    Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


D 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  dune  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires; 


L'ln^titut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'ii  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m^thode  normale  de  fiimage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


I      I    Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe( 
Pages  d6color6es,  tachet6es  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I      I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

fyj  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

|~7]  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  \/^ries/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I  Only  edition  available/ 


□    Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


y 


12X 


16X 


20X 


26X 


30X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  cf : 

Douglas  Library 
Queen's  University 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

IVIaps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  filmA  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
g^nArositA  de: 

Douglas  Library 
Queen's  University 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  6tA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  le  nettet*  de  i'exemplaire  film«,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sent  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sent  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
ces:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  y  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  6tre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  fiim«  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bes,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  disgrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


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<E>\tt    J«outlj    3(caflct«t. 

No.   qi. 

The  Founding 
of  Quebec. 

1608. 


From  the  "  Voyac.ks  "  o\-  Samtkl  dk  Champlain, 


Having  returned  to  France  after  a  stay  of  three  years  in 
New  France,*  I  proceeded  to  Sieur  de  Monts,  and  related  to 
him  the  principal  events  of  which  I  had  been  a  witness  since 
his  departure,  and  gave  him  the  map  and  plan  of  the  most  re- 
markable coasts  and  harbors  there. 

Some  time  afterward  Sieur  de  Monts  determined  to  con- 
tinue his  undertaking,  and  complete  the  exploration  of  the 
interior  along  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence,  wiiere  1  had  been 
by  order  of  the  late  King  Henry  the  Great  t  in  the  year  1603, 
for  a  distance  of  some  hundred  and  eighty  leagues,  commencing 
in  latitude  48°  40',  that  is,  at  Gasp^,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
river,  as  far  as  the  great  fall,  which  is  in  latitude  45°  and  some 
minutes,  where  our  exploration  ended,  and  where  boats  could 
not  pass  as  we  then  thought,  since  we  had  not  made  a  careful 
examination  of  it  as  we  have  since  done.t 

Now,  after  Sieur  de  Monts  had  conferred  with  me  several 
times  in  regard  to  his  purposes  concerning  the  exploration,  he 
resolved  to  continue  so  noble  and  meritorious  an  undertaking, 
notwithstanding  the  hardships  and  labors  of  the  past.  He 
honored  me  with  his  lieutenancy  for  the  voyage ;  and,  in  order 
to  carry  out  his  purpose,  he  had  two  vesse'    equipped,  one  com- 

*  Champlain  arrived  on  the  shores  of  America  on  the  8th  of  A!ay,  1604,  and  left  on  the 
3d  of  September,  if>o7.  He  had  consequently  been  on  our  coast  three  years,  three  months, 
and  twenty-five  days.      T/ie  notes  are  reprinted  from  Stafter 

\  The  late  Kii:^  Henry  the  Great  Henry  IV  died  in  i')io.  and  this  inlroduHory  pas- 
sage was  obviously  written  after  that  event,  probably  near  Ih*;  tmie  ol  the  publication  of  his 
voyages  in  1613. 

I  In  the  preliminary  voyage  of  1603,  Champlain  ascended  tlie  Si  Lawrence  as  far  as  the 
tails  of  St.  Louis,  above  Moniteal 


manded  by  Pont  Gr.iv^,  who  was  commissioned  to  trade  with 
the  savages  of  the  country  and  bring  back  the  vessels,  while  I 
was  to  winter  in  the  country. 

Sieur  de  Monts,  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of 
the  expedition,  obtained  letters  from  his  Majesty  for  one  year, 
by  which  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  traffic  in  peltry  with  the 
savages,  on  penalties  stated  in  the  following  commission  :  — 


kt^ 


«■  '! 


ii 


!   ■ 


f!t'- 


Henry  hv  the  grace  of  God  Kixg  of  France  and 
Navarre,  to  our  beloved  and  faithful  Councillors,  the  officers 
of  our  Admiralty  in  Normandy,  Brittany,  and  Guienne,  bailiffs, 
marshals,  provosts,  judges,  or  their  lieutenants,  and  to  each  one 
of  them,  accordmg  to  his  authority,  throughout  the  extent  of 
their  powers,  jurisdictions,  and  precincts,  greeting  : 

Acting  upon  the  information  which  has  been  given  us  by 
those  who  have  returned  from  New  France,  respecting  the 
good  quality  and  fertility  of  the  lands  of  that  country,  and 
the  disposition  of  the  people  to  accept  the  knowledge  of  God, 
We  have  resolved  to  continue  the  settlement  previously  un- 
dertaken there,  in  order  that  our  subjects  may  go  there  to 
trade  without  hindrance.  And  in  view  of  the  proposition 
to  us  of  Sieur  de  Monts,  (ientleman  in  Ordinary  of  our 
chamber,  and  our  Lieutenant-General  in  that  country,  to  make 
a  settlement,  on  condition  of  our  giving  him  means  and  sup- 
plies for  sustaining  the  expense  of  it,*  it  has  pleased  us  to 
promise  and  assure  him  that  none  of  our  subjects  but  himself 
shall  be  permitted  to  trade  in  peltry  and  other  merchandise, 
for  the  period  of  one  year  only,  in  the  lands,  regions,  harbors, 
rivers,  and  highways  throughout  the  extent  of  his  jurisdic- 
tion :  this  We  desire  to  have  fulfilled.  For  these  causes  and 
other  considerations  impelling  us  thereto,  We  command  and 
decree  that  each  one  of  you,  throughout  the  extent  of  your 
powers,  jurisdictions,  and  precincts,  shall  act  in  our  stead  and 
carry  out  our  will  in  distinctly  prohibiting  and  forbidding  all 
merchants,  masters,  and  captains  of  vessels,  also  sailors  and 
others  of  our  subjects,  of  whatever  rank  and  profession,  to  fit 
out  any  vessels,  in  which  to  go  themselves  or  send  others  in 
order  to  engage  in  trade  or  barter  in  peltry  and  other  things 
with  the  savages  of  New  France,  to  visit,  trade,  or  communi- 
cate with  them  during  the  space  of  one  year,  within  the  juris- 

•The  contribution  by  Henry  IV.  did  not  probably  extend  beyond  the  monopoly  of  the 
fur-trade  granted  by  him  m  this  commission. 


I 

1.1  h , 


9 


) 


diction  of  Sieur  de  Monts,  on  penalty  of  disobedience,  and 
the  entire  confiscatl(jn  of  their  vessels,  supplies,  arms,  and 
merchandise  for  the  benefit  of  Sieur  de  Monts ,  and,  in  order 
that  the  punishment  of  their  disobedience  may  be  assured, 
you  will  allow,  as  We  have  and  do  allow,  the  aforesaid  Sieur 
de  Monts  or  his  lieutenants  to  seize,  apprehend,  and  arrest 
all  violators  of  our  present  prohibition  and  order,  also  their 
vessels,  merchandise,  arms,  supplies,  and  victuals,  in  order  to 
take  and  deliver  them  up  to  the  hands  of  justice,  so  that 
action  may  be  taken  not  only  against  the  persons,  but  also 
the  property  of  the  offenders,  as  the  case  shall  require.  This 
is  our  will,  and  We  bid  you  to  have  it  at  once  read  and  pub- 
lished in  all  localities  and  public  places  within  your  authority 
and  jurisdiction,  as  you  may  deem  necessary,  by  the  first  one 
of  our  officers  or  sergeants  in  accordance  with  this  requisition 
by  virtue  of  these  presents,  or  a  copy  of  the  same,  properly  at- 
tested once  only  by  one  of  our  well-beloved  and  faithful  coun- 
cillors, notaries,  and  secretaries,  to  which  it  is  our  will  that 
credence  should  be  given  as  to  the  present  original,  in  order 
.that  none  of  our  subjects  may  claim  ground  for  ignorance, 
but  that  ail  may  obey  and  act  in  acv.  rdance  with  our  will 
in  this  matter.  We  order,  moreover,  all  captains  of  vessels, 
mates,  and  second  mates,  and  sailors  of  the  same,  and  others 
on  board  of  vessels  or  ships  in  the  ports  and  harbors  of  the 
aforesaid  country,  to  permit,  as  We  have  done,  Sieur  de  Monts, 
and  others  possessing  power  and  authority  from  him,  to  search 
the  aforesaid  vessels  which  shall  have  engaged  in  the  fur-trade 
after  the  present  prohibition  shall  have  been  made  known  to 
them.  It  is  our  will  that,  upon  the  requisition  of  the  afore- 
said Sieur  de  Monts,  his  lieutenants,  and  others  having  au- 
thority, you  should  proceed  against  the  disobedient  and  of- 
fenders, as  the  case  may  require :  to  this  end.  We  give  you 
power,  authority,  commission,  and  special  mandate,  notwith- 
standing the  act  of  our  Council  of  the  17th  day  of  July  last,* 
any  hue  and  cry,  Norman  charter,  accusation,  objection,  or 
appeals  of  whatsoever  kind ;  on  account  of  which  and  for  fear 
of  disregarding  which,  it  is  our  will  that  there  should  be  no 
delay,  and,*  if  any  of  these  occur,  We  have  withheld  and  re- 
served cognizance  of  the  same  to  ourselves  and  our  Council, 
apart  from  all  other  judges,  and  have  forbidden  and  prohibited 
the  same  to  all  our  courts  and  judges :  for  this  is  our  pleasure. 


•This,  we  presume,  was  the  act  abrogating  the  charter  of  De  Monts  eranted  in  f6o3. 


Given   at   I'aris  the   seventh   day  of   January,  in  the   year  of 
grace  sixteen  hundred  and  eight,   and   the  nineteenth   of  our 


reign. 


Si<i;ned, 


HENRY. 


1  '-^ 


And  lower  down.  By  the  King,  Delomenie.  And  sealed 
with  the  shigle  label  of  the  great  seal  of  yellow  wax. 

Collated  with  the  original  bj'  me,  Councillor,  Notary,  and 
Secretary  of  the  King. 

I  proceeded  to  Hontleur  for  embarkation,  where  I  found  the 
vessel  of  Pont  Grave  in  readiness.  He  left  port  on  the  5th  of 
April.  1  did  soon  the  13th,  arriving  at  the  Grand  Bank  on 
the  15th  of  May,  in  latitude  45°  15'.  On  the  26th  we  sighted 
Cape  St.  Mary,*  in  latitude  46°  45',  on  the  Island  of  New- 
foundland. On  the  27th  of  the  month  we  sighted  Cape  St. 
Lawrence,  on  Cape  Breton,  and  also  the  Island  of  St.  Paul, 
distant  eighty-three  leagues  from  Cape  St.  Mary.f  On  the 
30th  we  sighted  Isle  Percee  and  Gaspe,1:  in  latitude  48°  40,' 
distant  from  Cape  St.  Lawrence  from  seventy  to  seventy-five 
leagues. 

On  the  3d  of  June  we  arrived  before  Tadoussac.  distant 
from  Gaspe  from  eighty  to  ninety  leagues ;  and  we  anchored 
in  the  roadstead  of  Tadoussac, §  a  league  distant  from  the 
harbor,  which  latter  is  a  kind  of  cove  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Siguenay,  where  the  tide  is  very  remarkable  on  ac 
count  of  its  rapidity,  and  where  there  are  sometimes  violent 
winds,  bringing  severe  cold.  It  is  maintained  that  from  the 
harbor  of   Tadoussac  it  is   some  forty-five   or  fifty  leagues  to 

•  Tnis  tape  still  retains  its  ancient  name,  ani'.  is  situated  between  St.  Mary's  Hay  and 
Placentia  I'.ay. 

t  Cape  St  Lawrence  is  the  northernmost  extremity  of  the  Island  of  Cape  Rreton,  and  the 
Island  ol  St    Paul  is  twenty  miles  north-east  of  it. 

J  The  Isle  Fercde,  or  pierced  island,  is  a  short  distance  north  of  the  Island  of  Bonaven- 
ture,  at  the  entrance  of  Mai  liay,  near  the  village  of  Percee,  where  there  is  a  government 
light  (iasp6  Hay  is  some  miles  farther  north  "Below  the  bay,"  says  Charlevoix,  "we 
perc?ive  a  kind  of  island,  which  is  only  a  steep  rock  about  thirty  fathoms  long,  ten  high,  and 
lour  in  breadth:  it  looks  like  part  of  an  old  wal',  and  they  say  it  loined  formerly  to  Mount 
loli,  which  is  over  against  it  on  the  continent.  This  rock  has  m  the  midst  of  it  an  opening 
like  an  arch,  under  wliich  a  boat  of  Biscay  may  pass  with  its  sail  up;  and  this  has  given  it 
the  name  of  the //>r(-«</ island." — Letters  to  the  Duchess  of  Lesiliguiires,  by  Francis  Xavier 
de  Charlevoix,  London,  1763,  p.  12. 

§The  position  in  the  roadstead  was  south-east  of  the  harbor,  so  that  the  harbor  was  seen 
on  the  north-west.  Charlevoix  calls  it  Moulin  Haude.  The  reader  will  find  the  position  in- 
dicated by  the  letter  M  on  Champlain'smap  of  the  port  of  Tadoussac.  Baude  Moulin  (Haude 
Mill),  directly  north  of  it,  was  probably  a  mill  privilege.  Charlevoix,  in  1720,  anchored 
there,  and  asked  them  to  show  him  the  mill;  and  they  showed  him  some  rocks,  from  which 
issued  a  stream  of  clear  water.  He  adds,  they  might  build  a  water-mill  here,  but  probably 
it  will  never  be  done. 


5 


the  first  fall  on  this  river,  which  comes  from  the  north-north- 
west. 'I'he  harbor  is  small,  and  can  acconnnodate  only  ai)out 
twenty  vessels,  't  has  water  enough,  and  is  under  shelter  of 
the  river  Saj^uenay  and  a  little  rocky  island,  which  is  almost 
cut  by  the  river.  Elsewhere  there  are  very  hij^h  mountains, 
with  little  soil  and  only  rocks  and  sand,  thickly  covered  with 
such  wood  as  hr  and  birch.  'I'here  is  a  small  pond  near  the 
harbor,  shut  in  by  mountains  covered  with  wood.  There 
are  two  |)oints  at  the  mouth  :  one  on  the  south-west  side,  i\- 
tendinj;  out  nearly  a  league  into  the  sea,  called  Point  St. 
Matthew,  or  otherwise  Point  aux  Allouettes  ;  and  another  on 
the  north-west  side,  extending  out  one-eighth  of  a  league,  and 
called  Point  of  all  Devils,*  from  the  dangerous  nature  of  the 
place.  The  winds  from  the  south-south-east  strike  the  har- 
bor, which  are  not  to  be  feared  ;  but  those,  however,  from  the 
Saguenay  are.  The  two  points  above  mentioned  are  dry  at 
low  tide.  Our  vessel  was  unable  to  enter  the  harbor,  as  the 
wind  and  tide  were  unfavorable.  I  at  once  had  the  boat 
lowered,  in  order  to  go  to  the  port  and  ascertain  whether 
Pont  Grave  had  arrived.  While  on  the  way,  I  met  a  shallop 
with  the  pilot  of  Pont  Grave  and  a  Basque,  who  came  to 
inform  me  of  what  had  happened  to  them  because  they  at- 
tempted to  hinder  the  Basque  vessels  from  trading,  according 
to  the  commission  obtained  by  Sieur  de  Monts  from  his 
Majesty,  that  no  vessels  should  trade  without  permission  of 
Sieur  de  Monts,  as  was  expressed  in  it ;  and  that,  notwith- 
standing the  notifications  which  Pont  Grave  made  in  behalf 
of  his  Majesty,  they  did  not  desist  from  forcibly  carrying  on 
their  traffic  ;  and  that  they  have  used  their  arms  and  main- 
tained themselves  so  well  in  their  vessel  that,  discharging  all 
their  cannon  upon  that  of  Pont  Grave,  and  letting  off  many 
musket-shots,  he  was  severely  wounded,  together  with  three  of 
his  men,  one  of  whom  died,  Pont  Grave  meanwhile  making  no 
resistance,  for  at  the  first  shower  of  musketry  he  was  struck 
down.  ihe  Basques  came  on  board  of  the  vessel  and  took 
away  all  the  cannon  and  arms,  declaring  that  they  would  trade, 
notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  the  King,  and  that  when 
they  were  ready  to  set  out  for  France  they  would  restore  to 
him  his  cannon  and  ammunition,  and  that  they  were  keeping 
them  in  order  to  be  in  a  state  of  security.     Upon  hearing  all 

*  Poinie  de  tous  Us  DiaHe'i.     Now  known  as  Pointe  aux  Vaches,  cmvs.     The  point     l 
the  other  side  of  the  river  is  still  called  Pointe  aux  Alouettes,  or  I^ark  Point. 


If 

.  i: 


& 


i-    .  S' 


','    1 


li.'    € 


these  particulars,  I  was  greatly  annoyed  at  such  a  beginning, 
which  we  might  have  easily  avoided. 

Now,  after  hearing  from  the  pilot  all  these  things,  I  asked 
him  why  the  Basque  had  come  on  board  of  our  vessel.  He 
told  me  that  he  came  in  behalf  of  their  master,  named  Darache, 
and  his  companions,  to  obtain  assurance  from  me  that  I  would 
do  them  no  harm,  when  our  vessel  entered  the  harbor. 

I  replied  that  I  could  not  give  any  until  I  had  seen  Pont 
Grave.  The  liasque  .said  that,  if  I  had  need  of  anything  in 
their  power,  they  would  assist  me  accordingly.  What  led  them 
to  use  this  language  was  simply  their  recognition  of  having 
done  wrong,  as  they  confessed,  and  the  fear  that  they  would 
not  be  permitted  to  engage  in  the  whale-fishery.  After  talk- 
ing at  length,  I  went  ashore  to  see  Pont  (irave,  in  order  to 
deliberate  as  to  what  was  to  be  done.  1  found  him  very  ill. 
He  related  to  me  in  detail  all  that  had  happened.  We  con- 
cluded that  we  could  only  enter  the  harbor  by  force,  and  that 
the  settlement  must  not  be  given  up  for  this  year,  so  that  we 
considered  it  best,  in  order  not  to  make  a  bad  cause  out  of  a 
just  one,  and  thus  work  our  ruin,  to  give  them  assurances 
on  my  part  so  long  as  I  should  remain  there,  and  that  Pont 
Grave'  should  undertake  nothing  against  them,  but  that  justice 
should  be  done  in  France,  and  their  differences  should  be 
settled  there. 

Darache,  master  of  the  vessel,  begged  me  to  go  on  board, 
where  he  gave  me  a  cordial  reception.  After  a  long  confer- 
ence, I  secured  an  agreement  between  Pont  Gravd  and  him, 
and  required  him  to  promise  that  he  would  undertake  noth- 
ing against  Pont  Grave,  or  what  would  be  prejudicial  to  the 
King  and  Sieur  de  Monts ;  that,  if  he  did  the  contrary,  I 
should  regard  my  promise  as  null  and  void.  This  was  agreed 
to,  and  signed  by  each. 

In  this  place  were  a  number  of  savages  who  had  come  for 
traffic  in  furs,  several  of  whom  came  to  our  vessel  .with  their 
canoes,  which  are  from  eight  to  nine  paces  long,  and  about  a 
pace  or  pace  and  a  half  broad  in  the  middle,  growing  nar- 
rower towards  the  two  ends.  They  are  very  apt  to  turn 
over,  in  case  one  does  not  understand  managing  them,  and 
are  made  of  birch  bark,  strengthened  on  the  inside  by  little 
ribs  of  white  cedar,  very  neatly  arranged.  They  are  so  light 
that  a  man  can  easily  carry  one.  Each  can  carry  a  weight 
equal  to  that  of  a  pipe.     When  they  want  to  go  overland  to  a 


river  where  they  have  business,  they  carry  them  with  them. 
From  Choiiacoet  along  the  coast  as  far  as  the  harbor  of 
Tadoussac.  they  are  ail  alil<e. 

After  this  agreement,  I  had  some  carpenters  set  to  work  to 
fit  up  a  little  barque  of  twelve  or  fourteen  tons,  for  carrying  all 
that  was  needed  for  our  settlement,  which,  however,  could  not 
be  got  ready  before  the  last  of  June. 

Meanwhile  I  managed  to  visit  some  parts  of  the  river 
Saguenay,  a  fine  river,  which  has  the  incredible  depth  of  some 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  fathoms.*  About  fifty 
leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  there  is,  as  is  sai^',  a 
great  waterfall,  descending  from  a  very  high  elevation  with 
great  impetuosity.  There  are  some  islands  in  this  river,  very 
barren,  being  only  rocks  covered  with  small  firs  and  heathers. 
It  is  half  a  league  broad  in  places,  and  a  quarter  of  a  league 
at  its  mouth,  where  the  current  is  so  strong  that  at  three- 
quarters  Hood-tide  in  the  river  it  is  still  running  out.  All 
the  land  that  I  have  seen  consists  only  of  mountains  and 
rocky  promontories,  for  the  most  part  covered  with  fir  and 
birch,  a  very  unattractive  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 
In  a  word,  it  is  mere  wastes,  uninhabited  by  either  animals 
or  birds;  for,  going  out  hunting  in  places  which  seemed  to 
me  the  most  pleasant,  I  found  only  some  very  small  birds,  such 
as  swallows  and  river  birds,  which  go  there  in  summer.  At 
other  times  there  are  none  whatever,  in  consequence  of  the 
excessive  cold.     This  river  Hows  from  the  north-west. 

The  savages  told  me  tliat,  after  passing  the  first  fall,  they 
meet  with  eight  others,  when  they  go  a  day's  journey  with- 
out finding  any.  Then  they  piss  ten  others,  and  enter  a 
lake,t  which  they  are  three  days  in  crossing,  and  they  are 
easily  able  to  make  ten  leagues  a  day  up  stream.  At  the  end 
of   the    lake   there  dwells  a  migratory  people.      Of  the  three 

•The  deepest  sounding  as  laid  down  on  Laurie's  Cliart  is  one  hundred  and  forty-six 
fathoms  The  same  authority  says  the  banks  of  tlie  river  throughout  its  course  are  very 
rocky,  and  vary  in  height  from  one  hundred  and  seventy  to  three  hundred  and  forty  yards 
above  the  stream.  Its  current  is  broad,  deep,  and  uncommonly  veiiement.  In  some 
places,  where  precipices  intervene,  are  falls  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  in  height,  down  which  the 
whole  volume  of  water  rushes  with  tremendous  fury  and  noise  The  general  breadth  of  the 
river  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles,  but  at  its  mouth  its  width  is  contracted  to  three-quarters 
of  a  mile.     The  tide  runs  upward  about  sixty-five  miles  from  its  mouth 

t  If  the  Indians  were  three  days  in  crossing  Lake  St.  John  here  referred  to,  who«e  length 
is  variously  stated  to  be  from  twenty-five  to  forty  miles,  it  could  hardly  have  been  the 
shortest  time  in  which  it  were  possible  to  pass  it  It  may  have  been  the  usual  time,  some  of 
which  they  gave  to  fishing  or  hunting.  "In  1647,  Father  Jean  Duquen,  missionary  at  Ta- 
doussac, ascending  the  Saguenay,  discovered  the  Lake  St  John,  and  noted  its  Indian  name, 
Picouagami,  or  Flat  Lake  He  was  the  first  Kuropean  who  beheld  that  magnificent  expanse 
of  inland  water." —  Vide  Tra>isitctwiii  Lit.  ami  Hn.  Sot.  of  Quebec,  1867-68,  p   5. 


8 


gi  } 


rivers  which  How  into  this  hike,  one  comes  from  the  north, 
very  ne;ir  the  mm,  where  they  consider  it  much  colder  than  in 
their  own  country  :  and  the  other  two  from  other  directions 
in  the  intt-rior,*  where  are  nii;;rat(>rv  savaj;es,  Hvin^  (Jiily 
from  hunting',  and  where  our  sii\  .i[;es  carry  the  merchandise 
we  ^ive  them  for  tlieir  furs,  such  as  beaver,  marten,  lynx,  .uui 
otter,  which  are  fuund  there  in  hirj^e  numbers,  and  whicli 
ihey  then  carry  to  our  vessels.  These  people  of  the  north 
report  to  our  sava|.;es  that  they  see  the  salt  sea  ;  and,  if  that 
is  true,  as  I  think  it  certainly  is,  it  can  be  nothing;  but  a 
gulf  entering  the  interior  on  the  north. t  'I'he  savages  say 
that  the  distance  from  the  north  sea  to  the  port  of  Tadoussac 
is  perhaps  forty-five  or  fifty  days'  journey,  in  consecpience  of 
the  difficulties  presented  by  the  roads,  rivers,  and  country, 
'vhich  is  very  mt)untamous,  and  where  there  is  snow  for  the 
most  part  of  the  year.  This  is  what  I  have  definitely  ascer- 
tained in  regard  to  this  river  I  have  often  wished  to  exul':  e 
it,  but  could  not  do  so  without  the  savages,  who  were  unwill- 
ing that  I  or  any  of  our  jxirty  should  accorri^ny  them. 
Nevertheless,  they  have  promised  that  I  shall  do  so.  This 
exploration  would  be  desirable,  in  order  to  remove  the  doubts 
of  many  persons  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  this  sea  on  the 
north,  where  it  is  maintained  that  the  English  have  gone  in 
these  latter  years  to  find  a  way  to  China. t 

I  set  out  from  Tadoussac  the  last  day  of  the  month  to  go 
to  Quebec, §      We  passed  near  an  island  called   Hare   Island, || 

•The  first  of  tlicse  three  rivers,  which  the  traveller  will  meet  ,is  he  p.isses  up  the  northern 
shore  of  the  lake,  is  the  Pcrihouca  tlowiiif^  from  the  north-east.  The  second  is  the  Mis- 
tassina,  represented  hy  the  Indians  as  coniing  trom  the  salt  sea.  The  third  is  the  Choniuu- 
chonan,  flowing  from  the  north-west. 

t  There  was  donhtless  an  Indian  trail  from  the  head-waters  of  the  Mistassina  to  Mistassin 
Lake,  and  from  thence  to  Rupert  River,  which  Hows  into  the  lower  part  of  Hudson's  May. 

i  The  salt  sea  referred  to  hy  the  Indians  was  undouhtedly  Hudson's  Hay.  The  dis- 
coverer of  this  bay,  Henry  Hudson,  in  the  years  1^107,  ifK,S,  and  i'mh),  was  in  the  northern 
ocean  se.irching  lor  a  passage  to  C'alliav.  In  iiuo  he  discovered  tlie  strait  and  bay  which 
now  bear  his  name.  He  passed  the  winter  in  the  southern  pn-t  of  the  bay;  and  the  next 
year,  lOi  i,  his  sailor.'^  in  a  niutiny  fon  td  linii  and  his  officers  into  a  shallop,  and  abandoned 
them  to  perish  Nothing  was  IrmkI  of  tlRiu  atterward.  The  lame  of  Hudson's  discovery 
had  reached  Champlain  before  the  pwblii.alion  of  this  volume  in  161  j.  This  will  be  apparent 
by  comparing  Champlain's  small  map  with  the  Tahii.a  Naitica  of  Hudson,  published  in 
ifiia.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  wliole  of  the  Carte  (leographique  de  la  Nouveile  France  of 
Champlain,  on  the  west  of  l.umley's  Inlet,  including  Hudson's  Strait  and  Bay,  is  a  copy  from 
tiie  Tabula  N.iutica.  Kven  the  names  are  in  English,  a  few  characteristic  ones  being  omitted, 
such  as  Prince  Henry,  the  King's  Korlant,  and  Cape  Charles. —  /'/>/«■  Henry  Hudson  the 
Navigator,  by  G.  M.  Asher,  LL.I).,  tiakluyt  Society,  iS^io,  p.  xliv 

§  This  was  June  30,  1608. 

II  Isle  aiix  1.  livres,  or  hares.  This  name  was  given  by  Jacques  Carlier,  and  it  is  still 
called  Hare  Island.  It  is  about  ten  geographical  miles  longi  ^nd  generally  about  lialf  or 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide. 


distant  six  leapiies  from  thv  ahove-n.uinfl  port  :  it  i-.  two 
leagues  from  the  northern,  and  nearly  four  leagues  from  the 
southern  shore,  l-'rom  Hare  Island  we  procr-eded  to  a  little 
river,  dry  at  low  tide,  u|)  which  some  seven  hundred  or  eight 
hundred  paces  there  are  two  falls.  We  named  it  Salmon 
Kivet,*  sMice  we  caught  some  of  these  fish  in  it.  Coasting 
al(jng  the  north  shore,  we  ( ame  to  a  jioint  extending  into  the 
river,  which  we  called  Cap  Dauphin, t  distant  tliree  leagues 
from  Salmon  Kiver.  Thence  we  proceeded  to  another,  which 
we  named  Kagle  Cape.t  distant  eight  leagues  from  Cap 
J)auphiii  littween  the  two  there  is  a  large  l)ay,>J  at  the  ex- 
t-eniity  c-'  v  hich  is  a  little  river  dry  at  low  tide,  l-rom  Kagle 
Cape  we  pr' needed  to  Isle  aux  Coudres. ||  a  good  league  dis- 
tant, which  IS  about  a  league  and  a  half  long.  It  is  nearly 
level,  '.  ul  g ows  nr  .uvver  towaids  the  tw(^  ends.  On  the 
weste...  side  th'^'c  are  meadows,  and  rocky  points  extending 
some  distan  .  out  into  the  river.  On  the  south-west  side  it 
is  very  re  f;  ,  yet  very  pleasant  in  consecjuence  of  the  woods 
surrouiiding  it.  It  is  distant  about  half  a  league  from  the 
northern  shoie,  where  is  a  little  river  extending  some  distance 
into  the  interior.  We  namod  it  Riviere  du  Goutfre,^i  since 
abreast  of  it  the  t.de  runs  with  extraordinary  rapidit)"  •  and, 
although  it  has  a  calm  appearance,  it  is  always  much  agi- 
tated, the  ilepth  there  being  great  but  the  river  itself  is 
shallow,  and  the.'e  are  many  rocks  at  and  about  its  mouth. 
Coasting  along  from  Isle  aux  Coudres,  we  reached  a  cape 
which  we  named  Cap  de  Tourmente,**   five  leagues  distant; 

"Khicre  itiix  SauimoHs.  "From  all  .Tp|)L'.\raiH-es,"  s.iys  Laverdiere,  "  tliis  .Sahium 
Kiver  is  tliat  which  empties  into  the  '  I'ort  k  rKquillcs,' eel ''arhor,  aNo  lallcd  '  Port  aux 
Uuilles,'  Skittles  I'ort.  Its  moutli  is  two  ieaijues  Irom  Cape  Salmon,  wit'  which  it  must  not 
be  confounded."     it  i^  now  kiuiwii  as  I'.lack  River. 

i  Cafi  Ihiiifihin,  now  called  Cape  Salmon,  which  is  about  three  le.iKnes  from  lUark 
Kiver. 

XCaf>  J  I'Aigle,  now  known  as  Cnp  aux  Oies,  or  Cioi  e  Cape.  The  E.ijjie  Capt  of 
to-day  is  little  more  than  two  leagues  Irom  Cape  Salmon,  while  Cioose  Cape  is  about  eight 
leagues,  as  stated  in  the  text. 

§rhe  bay  stretching  between  Cape  .Salmon  and  Goose  Cape  is  called  Mai  liay  within 
which  are  Cape  Kagle,  Murray  l'>ay,  Point  au  Pies,  White  Cipe,  Red  Cape,  Illack,  tJape, 
Point  Pere,  Point  Corneille,  and  l.ittle  .Mai  Hay.  In  the  rear  of  (loose  Cajie  are  les  I'boule- 
niens  Mountains,  2,547  teet  in  height  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  is  Point  Ouelle,  and 
the  river  of  the  same  name. 

\[lsle  n.' r  Coudres,  Hazel  Island,  so  mined  by  Jacques  Cartier,  still  retains  its  ancient 
appellation       Its  distance  Irom  (loose  Cape  is  about  two  leagues.     The  description  of  it  in 
he  text  18  very  accurate 

If  Riviere  du  Gouffrc  This  river  still  retains  this  name,  signifying  whirlpool,  and  is  the 
same  that  empties  into  St   Paul's  I'ay,  opposite  Isle  aux  Coudres 

**Capde  Toiiruiente.  cape  cf  the  tempest,  is  eight  leagues  from  Isle  aux  Coudres,  but 
about  two  from  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  as  stated  in  the  text,  which  sufficiently  identifies  it. 


10 


and  we  gave  it  this  name  because,  however  little  wind  there 
may  be,  the  water  rises  there  as  if  it  were  full  tide.  At  this 
point  the  water  begins  to  be  fresh.  Thence  we  proceeded  to 
the  Island  of  Orleans,*  a  distance  of  two  leagues,  on  the 
south  side  of  which  are  numerous  islands,  low,  covered  with 
trees  and  very  pleasant,  with  large  meadows,  having  plenty 
of  game,  some  being,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  two  leagues  in 
length,  others  a  trifle  more  or  less.  About  these  islands  are 
many  rocks,  also  very  dangerous  shallows,  some  two  leagues 
distant  from  the  main  land  on  the  south.  All  this  shore,  both 
north  and  south,  from  'I'adoussac  to  the  Island  of  Orleans,  is 
mountainous,  and  the  soil  very  poor.  The  wood  is  pine,  fir, 
and  birch  only,  with  very  ugly  rocks,  so  that  in  most  places 
one  could  not  make  his  way. 

Now  we  passed  along  south  of  the  Island  of  Orleans,  which 
is  a  league  and  a  half  distant  from  the  mam  land  and  half  a 
league  on  the  north  side,  being  six  leagues  in  length,  and  one 
in  breadth,  or  in  some  places  a  league  and  a  half.  On  the 
north  side,  it  is  very  pleasant,  on  account  of  the  great  extent 
of  woods  and  meadows  there ;  but  it  is  very  dangerous  sailing, 
in  consequence  of  the  numerous  points  and  rocks  between 
the  main  land  and  island,  on  which  are  numerous  fine  oaks 
and  in  some  places  nut-trees,  and  on  the  borders  of  the  woods 
vines  and  other  trees  such  as  we  have  in  France.  This  place 
is  the  commencement  of  the  fine  and  fertile  country  of  the 
great  river,  and  is  distant  one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues 
from  its  mouth.  Off  the  end  of  the  island  is  a  torrent  of 
water  on  the  north  shore,  proceeding  from  a  lake  ten  leagues 
in  the  interior ;  t  it  comes  down  from  a  height  of  nearly  twenty- 


li:%M 


*  Isle  li'OrUiins.  Cartier  discovered  tliis  island  in  1535.  and  named  it  the  Island  of 
Baccluis,  because  he  saw  vines  growing  there,  winch  lie  had  not  before  seen  in  that  region 
He  says,  "  Kt  pareillenient  y  trouuasnies  force  vignes,  ce  que  n'auyons  veu  par  cy  deuant 
^  toute  la  terre,  &  par  ce  la  nomniasmes  I'ysle  de  Hacchus."'—  Brief  Rhit  Je  fa  Xiivig-ation 
Fatte  en  mdxxxv  ,  par  Jacques  Cartier,  D'Avezac  ed.,  Paris,  1863,  pp  14,  m.  The  grape 
found  here  was  proljably  the  t'rost  drape,  I' itis  cordi/olui.  Tlie  "  Island  of  Orleans"  soon 
became  the  fixed  name  of  this  island,  which  it  still  retains.  Its  Indian  name  is  said  to  have 
been  Mi.iigo —  U'ltie  Laverdiere's  interesting  note,  (hin-res  de  Chittii/>/ai>i,  tome  ii.  p.  24. 
Champlain's  estimate  of  the  size  of  the  island  is  nearly  accurate,  it  is,  according  to  the 
Admiralty  charts,  seventeen  marine  miles  in  length,  and  four  in  its  gieatest  width. 

t  This  was  the  river  Slontmorency  whiich  rises  in  Snow  Lake,  some  fifty  miles  in  the  in- 
terior.—  /  'ide  Champlam  s  reference  on  his  map  of  (Quebec  and  its  environs.  He  gave  this 
name  to  the  river,  which  it  still  retains,  in  honor  of  the  Admiral  Moiitmore.icy,  to  whom  he 
dedicated  his  notes  on  the  voyage  of  i'x)3.  Vide  Liiverdii're,  in  loco;  alio  Chaiii/>l(tiu,  ed. 
1632;  Charier  oi.t's  Letters,  London,  i7''3,  p.  19.  The  following  is  Jean  .Allonse's  descrip- 
tion of  the  fall  cf  Montmorency' :  "  When  thou  art  come  to  the  end  of  the  Isle,  thou  shall  see 
a  great  River,  which  falleth  hfteen  or  twenty  fathoms  downe  from  a  rocke,  and  maketh  a 
terrible  noise.'' — Haklnyt,  vol.  iii.  p.  293.  The  perpendicular  descent  of  the  Montmorency 
at  the  falls  is  240  feet 


\ 


II 


24- 

the 


in- 
this 
(n  he 
ed. 
icrip- 
It  see 
;th  a 
rency 


five  fathoms,  above  which  the  land  is  level  and  pleasant,  al- 
though farther  inland  are  seen  high  mountains  appearing  to  be 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  leagues  distant. 

From  the  Island  of  Orleans  to  Quebec  the  distance  is  a 
league.  I  arrived  there  on  the  3d  of  July,  when  I  searched  for 
a  place  suitable  for  our  settlement ;  but  I  could  find  none  more 
convenient  or  better  situated  than  the  pomt  of  Quebec,  so 
called  by  the  savages,*  which  was  covered  with  nut-trees.  I  at 
once  employed  a  portion  of  our  workmen  in  cuttmg  them 
down,  that  we  might  construct  our  habitation  there  :  one  I  set 
to  sawing  boards,  another  to  making  a  cellar  and  digging 
ditches,  another  I  sent  to  Tadoussac  with  the  barque  to  get 
supplies.  The  first  thing  we  made  was  the  storehouse  for 
keeping  under  cover  our  supplies,  which  was  promptly  accom- 
plished through  the  zeal  of  all,  and  my  attention  to  the  work. 

Some  days  after  my  arrival  at  Quebec  a  locksmith  con- 
spired against  the  service  of  the  king.  His  plan  was  to  put 
me  to  death,  and,  getting  possession  of  our  tort,  to  put  it  into 
the  hands  of  the  Basques  or  Spaniards,  then  at  Tadoussac, 
beyond  which  vessels  cannot  go,  from  not  having  a  knowledge 
of  the  route,  nor  of  the  banks  and  rocks  on  the  vvay. 

In  order  to  execute  his  wretched  plan,  by  which  he  hoped 
to  make  his  fortune,  he  suborned  four  of  the  worst  characters, 
as  he  supposed,  telling  them  a  thousand  falsehoods,  and  pre- 
senting to  them  prospects  of  acquiring  riches. 

These  four  men,  having  been  won  over,  all  promised  to  act 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain  the  rest  over  to  their  side,  so 
that,  for  the  time  being,  I  had  no  one  with  me  in  whom  I  could 
put  confidence,  which  gave  them  still  more  hope  of  making 
their  plan  succeed;  for  four  or  five  of  my  companions,  in 
whom  they  knew  that  I  put  confidence,  were  on  board  of 
the  barques,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  provisions  and 
supplies  necessary  for  our  settlement. 

In    a    word,    they    were     so     skilful    in    carrying    out    their 

•Chaniplain  here  plainly  means  to  say  that  the  Indians  call  the  narrow  place  in  the 
river  Quebec.  For  this  meaning  of  the  word,  viz.  narrowing  of  waters,  in  the  Algonquin 
language,  the  authority  is  abundant.  Laverdiere  quotes,  as  agreeing  with  him  in  this  view, 
BelTenger,  Ferland,  and  Lescarbot.  "  The  narrow'ng  of  the  river,  '  says  Charlevoix,  "gave 
It  the  name  of  (Jiieheto,  or  Quebec,  which  in  the  A  Igoiujuin  language  signifies  contraction. 
The  Abenaquis,  whose  language  is  a  dialect  of  the  Algonquin,  call  it  (^uelibec,  which  signifies 
something  shut  wxi.'"  —  Charlevoit\  Letters,  pp  i8,  19.  Alfred  Hawkins,  in  his"  Historical 
Recollections  of  Quebec,  '  regards  the  word  of  Norman  origin,  which  he  finds  on  a  seal  of 
the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  as  early  as  1420.  The  theory  is  ingenious-  but  it  requires  some  other 
characteristic  historical  facts  to  challenge  our  belief.  When  Cartier  visited  Quebec,  it  was 
called  by  the  natives  Stadacone  —  Vide  C.trtier's  Brief  Rtcit,  1545,  iJ'Avezac  ed.,  Fans, 
1863,  p.  14. 


:f 


m 


f '" 


! 


intrigues  ^vith  those  who  remained  that  they  were  on  the 
point  of  gaining  all  over  to  their  cause,  even  my  lackey,  prom- 
ising them  many  things  which  they  could  not  have  fulfilled. 

Being  now  all  agreed,  they  made  daily  different  plans  as  to 
how  they  should  put  me  to  death,  so  as  not  to  be  accused  of 
it,  which  they  found  to  be  a  difficult  thing.  But  the  devil, 
blindfolding  them  all  and  taking  away  their  reason  and  every 
possible  difficulty,  they  determined  to  take  me  while  unarmed, 
and  strangle  me,  or  to  give  a  false  alarm  at  night,  and  shoot 
me  as  I  went  out,  in  which  manner  they  judged  that  they 
would  accomplish  their  work  sooner  than  otherwise.  They 
made  a  mutual  promise  not  to  betray  each  other,  on  penalty 
that  the  first  one  who  opened  his  mouth  should  be  poniarded. 
They  were  to  execute  their  plan  in  four  days,  before  the  arrival 
of  our  barques,  otherwise  they  would  have  been  unable  to  carry 
out  their  scheme. 

On  this  very  day  one  of  our  barques  arrived,  with  our  pilot. 
Captain  Testu,  a  very  discreet  man.  After  the  barque  was  un- 
loaded, and  ready  to  return  to  Tadoussac,  there  came  to  him 
a  locksmith,  named  Natel,  an  associate  of  Jean  du  Val,  the 
head  of  the  conspiracy,  who  told  him  that  he  had  promised 
the  rest  to  do  just  as  they  did,  but  that  he  did  not  in  fact 
desire  the  execution  of  the  plot,  yet  did  not  dare  to  make  a  dis- 
closure in  regard  to  it  from  fear  of  being  poniarded. 

Antoine  Natel  made  the  pilot  promise  that  he  would  make 
no  disclosure  in  regard  to  what  he  should  say,  since,  if  his 
companions  should  discover  it,  they  would  put  him  to  death. 
The  pilot  gave  him  his  assurance  in  all  particulars,  and  asked 
him  to  state  the  character  of  the  plot  which  they  wished  to 
carry  out.  This  Natel  did  at  length,  when  the  pilot  said  to 
him  :  "  My  friend,  you  have  done  well  to  disclose  such  a  ma- 
licious design,  and  you  show  that  you  are  an  upright  man,  and 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  these  things 
cannot  be  passed  by  without  bringing  them  to  the  knowledge 
of  Sieur  de  Champlain,  that  he  may  make  provision  against 
them ,  and  I  promise  you  that  I  will  prevail  upon  him  to 
pardon  you  and  the  rest.  And  I  will  at  once,"  said  the  pilot, 
"go  to  him  without  exciting  any  suspicion  ;  and  do  you  go 
about  your  business,  listening  to  all  they  may  say,  and  not 
troubling  yourself  about  the  rest." 

The  pilot  came  at  once  to  me,  in  a  garden  which  I  was 
having  prepared,  and  said  that  he  wished  to  speak  to  me  in  a 


private  place,  where  we  could  be  alone.  I  readily  assented, 
and  we  went  into  the  wood,  where  he  related  to  me  the  whole 
affair.  I  asked  who  had  told  it  to  him.  He  begged  me  to 
pardon  him  who  had  made  the  disclosure,  which  I  consented 
to  do,  alt'iough  he  ought  to  have  addressed  himself  to  me. 
He  was  afraid,  he  replied,  that  you  would  become  angry,  and 
harm  him.  I  told  him  that  I  was  able  to  govern  myself 
better  than  that  in  such  a  matter,  and  desired  him  to  have 
the  man  come  to  me,  that  I  migi>^  hear  his  statement.  He 
went,  and  brought  him  all  trembling  with  fear  lest  I  should 
do  him  some  harm.  I  reassured  him,  telling  him  not  to  be 
afraid,  that  he  was  in  a  place  of  safety,  and  that  I  should 
pardon  him  for  all  that  he  had  done,  together  with  the  others, 
provided  he  would  tell  me  in  full  the  truth  in  regard  to  the 
whole  matter,  and  the  motive  which  had  impelled  them  to  it. 
"Nothing,"  he  said,  "had  impelled  them,  except  that  they 
had  imagined  that,  by  giving  up  the  place  into  the  hands  of 
the  Basques  or  Spaniards,  they  might  all  become  rich,  and 
that  they  did  not  want  to  go  back  to  France.'  He  also 
related  to  me  the  remaining  particulars  in  regard  to  their 
conspiracy. 

After  having  heard  and  questioned  him,  I  directed  him  to 
go  about  his  work.  Meanwhile  I  ordered  the  pilot  to  bring 
up  his  shallop,  which  he  did  Then  I  gave  two  bottles  of 
wine  to  a  young  man,  directing  him  to  say  to  these  four 
worthies,  the  leaders  of  the  conspiracy,  that  it  was  a  present 
of  wine,  which  his  friends  at  Tadoussac  had  given  him,  and 
that  he  wished  to  share  it  with  them.  This  they  did  not 
decline,  and  at  evening  were  on  board  the  barque  where  he 
was  to  give  them  the  entertainment.  I  lost  no  time  in  going 
there  shortly  after,  and  caused  them  to  be  seized  and  held 
until  the  next  day. 

Then  were  my  worthies  astonished  indeed  I  at  once  had 
all  get  up,  for  it  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and 
pardoned  them  all  on  condition  that  they  would  disclose  to  me 
the  truth  in  regard  to  all  that  had  occurred,  which  they  did, 
when  I  had  them  retire. 

The  next  day  I  took  the  depositions  of  all,  one  after  the 
other,  in  the  presence  of  the  pilot  and  sailors  of  the  vessel, 
which  I  had  put  down  in  writing ;  and  they  were  well  pleased, 
as  they  said,  since  they  had  lived  only  in  fear  of  each  other, 
especially  of  the  four  knaves  who  had  ensnared  them.     But 


f  i 


14 


».  )! 


i    feM;  * 


now  they  lived  in  peace,  satisfied,  as  they  declared,  with  the 
treatment  which  they  had  received. 

The  same  day  I  had  six  pairs  of  handcuffs  made  for  the 
authors  of  the  conspiracy  :  one  for  our  surgeon,  named  Bon- 
nerme,  one  for  another,  named  La  Taille,  whom  the  four  con- 
spirators had  accused,  which,  however,  proved  false,  and  conse- 
quently they  were  given  their  hberty. 

This  being  done,  I  took  my  worthies  to  Tadoussac,  begging 
Pont  Grave  to  do  me  the  favor  of  guarding  them,  since  1  had 
as  yet  no  secure  place  for  keeping  them,  and  as  we  were 
occupied  in  constructing  our  places  of  abode.  Another  object 
was  to  consult  with  him,  and  others  on  the  ship,  as  to  what 
should  be  done  in  the  premises.  We  suggested  that,  after  he 
had  finished  his  work  at  Tadoussac,  he  should  come  to  Quebec 
with  the  prisoners,  where  we  should  have  them  confronted  with 
their  witnesses,  and,  after  giving  them  a  hearing,  order  justice 
to  be  done  according  to  the  offence  which  they  had  committed. 

I  went  back  the  next  day  to  Quebec,  to  hasten  the  com- 
pletion of  our  storehouse,  so  as  to  secure  our  provisions, 
which  had  been  misused  by  all  those  scoundrels,  who  spared 
nothing,  without  reflecting  how  they  could  find  more  when 
these  failed ;  for  I  could  not  obviate  the  difficulty  until  the 
storehouse  should  be  completed  and  shut  up. 

Pont  Grave  arrived  some  time  after  me,  with  the  prisoners, 
which  caused  uneasiness  to  the  workmen  who  remained,  since 
they  feared  that  I  should  pardon  them,  and  that  they  would 
avenge  themselves  upon  them  for  revealing  their  wicked 
design. 

We  had  them  brought  face  to  face,  and  they  affirmed 
before  them  all  which  they  had  stated  in  their  depositions,  the 
prisoners  not  denying  it,  but  admitting  that  they  had  acted 
in  a  wicked  manner,  and  should  be  punished,  unless  mercy 
might  be  exercised  towards  them  ;  accusing,  above  all,  Jean 
du  Val,  who  had  been  trying  to  lead  them  into  such  a  con- 
spiracy from  the  time  of  their  departure  from  France.  Du 
Val  knew  not  what  to  say,  except  that  he  deserved  death, 
that  all  stated  in  the  depositions  was  true,  and  that  he  begged 
for  mercy  upon  himself  and  the  others,  who  had  given  in  their 
adherence  to  his  pernicious  purposes. 

After  Pont  Grave  and  I,  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  surgeon, 
mate,  second  mate,  and  other  sailors  had  heard  their  deposi- 
tions and  face  to  face  statements,  we  adjudged  that  it  would 


m 


be  enough  to  put  to  death  l)u  Val,  as  the  instigator  of  the 
conspiracy;  and  that  he  might  serve  as  an  example  to  those 
who  remained,  leading  them  to  deport  themselves  correctly 
in  future,  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty;  and  that  the  Span- 
iards and  Basque^,  of  whom  there  were  large  numbers  in  the 
country,  might  not  glory  in  the  event.  We  adjudged  that 
the  three  others  be  condemned  to  be  hung,  but  that  they 
should  be  taken  to  France  and  put  into  the  hands  of  Sieur 
de  Monts,  that  such  ample  justice  might  be  done  them  as  he 
should  recommend ;  that  they  should  be  sent  with  all  the  evi- 
dence and  their  sentence,  as  well  as  that  of  Jean  du  Val,  who 
was  strangled  and  hung  at  Quebec,  and  his  head  was  put  on 
the  end  of  a  pike,  to  be  set  up  in  the  most  conspicuous  place 
on  our  fort. 

After  all  these  occurrences,  Pont  Grave  set  out  from  Quebec, 
on  the  i8lh  of  September,  to  return  to  France  with  the  three 
prisoners.  After  he  had  gone,  all  who  remained  conducted 
themselves  correctly  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty. 

I  had  the  work  on  our  quarters  continued,  which  was 
composed  of  three  buildings  of  two  stories.  Each  one  was 
three  fathoms  long,  and  two  and  a  half  wide.  The  store- 
house was  six  fathoms  long  and  three  wide,  with  a  fine  cellar 
six  feet  deep.  I  had  a  gallery  made  all  around  our  buildings, 
on  the  outside,  at  the  second  story,  which  proved  very  con- 
venient. There  were  also  ditches,  fifteen  feet  wide  and  six 
deep.  On  the  outer  side  of  the  ditches  I  constructed  several 
spurs,  which  enclosed  a  part  of  the  dwelling,  at  the  points 
where  we  placed  our  cannon.  Before  the  habitation  there  is 
a  place  four  fathoms  wide  and  six  or  seven  long,  looking  out 
upon  the  river-bank.  Surrounding  the  habitation  are  very 
good  gardens,  and  a  place  on  the  north  side  some  hundred  or 
hundred  and  twenty  paces  long  and  fifty  or  sixty  wide.  More- 
over, near  Quebec,  there  is  a  little  river,  coming  from  a  lake 
in  the  interior,*  distant  six  or  seven 


eagues  from  our  settle- 


*The  river  St.  Charles  flows  from  a  lake  in  the  interior  of  tlie  same  name.  It  was 
called  by  the  Montagnais,  according  to  Sagard  as  cited  by  I.averdiere,  lu  loco,  "Cabitecou- 
bat,  because  it  turns  and  forms  several  pomts  "  Cartier  named  it  the  Holy  Cross,  or  St. 
Croix,  because,  he  says,  he  arrived  there  "  that  day"  ;  that  is,  the  day  on  which  the  exaltation 
of  tlie  Cross  is  celebrated,  the  14th  of  September.  1535. —  l'u,e  Cartiir,  Hakiuyt,  \-ol  iii 
p.  7bh  The  Recollects  gave  it  the  name  ol  St  Charles,  alter  the  grand  vicar  of  I'ontoise, 
Charles  des  fioues  —  Laverdi^te,  in  loco  Jacques  Cartier  wintered  on  the  north  shore  of 
the  St  Charles,  which  he  called  the  St.  Croix,  or  the  Holy  Cross,  about  a  league  from 
Quebec.  "  Hard  by,  there  is,  in  that  riuer,  one  place  very  narrow,  deep,  and  swift  running, 
but  it  is  not  passing  the  third  part  of  a  league,  ouer  against  the  which  tliere  is  a  goodly  higri 
piece  of  land,  with  a  towne  therein  ;  and  the  country  about  it  is  very  well  tilled  and  wrought, 
and  as  good  as  possibly  can  be  seene.    This  is  the  jilace  and  abode  of  Donnacona,  and  ot 


i6 


l\ 


3 


•    H' 


ment.  I  am  of  opinion  that  this  river,  which  is  north  a  quarter 
north-west  from  our  settlement,  is  the  place  where  Jacques 
Cartier  wintered,*  since  there  are  still,  a  league  up  the  river, 
remains  of  what  seems  to  have  been  a  chimney,  the  founda- 
tion of  which  has  been  found,  and  indications  of  there  hav- 
ing been  ditches  surrounding  their  dwelling,  which  was 
small.  We  found,  also,  large  pieces  of  hewn,  worm-eaten 
timber,  and  some  three  or  four  cannon-balls.  All  these 
things  show  clearly  that  there  was  a  settlement  there  founded 
by  Christians ;  and  what  leads  me  to  say  and  believe  that  it 
was  that  of  Jacques  Cartier  is  the  fact  that  there  is  no  evi- 
dence whatever  that  any  one  wintered  and  built  a  house  in 
these  places  except  Jacques  Cartier,  at  the  time  of  his  discov- 
eries. This  place,  as  I  think,  must  have  been  called  St. 
Croix,  as  he  named  it ,  which  name  has  since  been  trans- 
ferred to  another  place  fifteen  leagues  west  of  our  settlement. 
But  there  is  no  evidence  of  his  having  wintered  in  the  place 
now  called  St.  Croix,  nor  in  any  other  there,  since  in  this 
direction  there  is  no  river  or  other  place  large  enough  for 
vessels  except  the  main  river  or  that  of  which  I  spoke  above ; 
here  there  is  half  a  fathom  of  water  at  low  tide,  many  rocks, 
and  a  bank  at  the  mouth ;  for  vessels,  if  kept  in  the  main  river, 
where  there  are  strong  currents  and  tides,  and  ice  in  the  win- 
ter, drifting  along,  would  run  the  risk  of  being  lost ;  especially 
as  there  is  a  sandy  point  extending  out  into  the  river,  and 
filled  with  rocks,  between  which  we  have  found,  within  the 
last  three  years,  a  passage  not  before  discovered ;  but  one 
must  go  through  cautiously,  in  consequence  of  the  dangerous 
points  there.  This  place  is  exposed  to  the  north-west  winds; 
and  the  river  runs  as  if  it  were  a  fall,  the  tide  ebbing  two  and 
a  half  fathoms.  There  are  no  signs  of  buildings  here,  nor 
any  indications  that  a  man  of  judgment  would  settle  in  this 
place,  there  being  many  other  better  ones,  in  case  one  were 
obliged  to  make  a  permanent  stay.  I  have  been  desirous  of 
speaking  at  length  on  this  point,  since  many  believe  that  the 
abode  of  Jacques  Cartier  was  here,  which  I  do  not  believe, 
for  the  reasons  here  given ;  for   Cartier  would  have  left  to 

our  two  men  we  took  in  our  first  voy^se,  it  is  called  Stabacona,  .  .  vnder  which  towne  to- 
ward the  North  the  riuer  and  port  of  the  holy  crosse  is,  where  we  staled  from  the  15  of  Sep- 
tember vntil  the  16  of  May,  153^1,  and  there  our  ships  remained  dry  as  we  said  before." — 
I'idejaci^ues  Cartier,  Second  I'oyage,  Hakluyt,  vol   in.  p   277. 

*  The  spot  where  Jacques  Cartier  wintered  was  at  the  junction  of  the  river  Lairet  and  the 
St.  Charles. 


17 


posterity  a  narrative  of  the  matter,  as  he  did  in  the  case  of 
all  he  saw  and  discovered  ;  and  1  maintain  that  my  opinion 
is  the  true  one,  as  can  be  shown  by  the  history  which 
he  has  left  in   writing. 

As  still  further  proof  that  this  place  now  called  St.  Croix  is 
not  the  place  where  Jacques  Cartier  wintered,  as  most  persons 
think,  this  is  what  he  says  about  it  in  his  discoveries,  taken 
from  his  history;  namely,  that  he  arrived  at  the  Isle  aux 
Coudres  on  the  5th  of  December,*  1535,  which  he  called  by 
this  name,  as  hazel-nuts  were  found  there.  There  is  a  strong 
tidal  current  in  this  place ;  and  he  says  that  it  is  three  leagues 
long,  but  it  is  quite  enough  to  reckon  a  league  and  a  half. 
On  the  7th  of  the  month,  Notre  Dame  Day,t  he  set  out 
from  this  island  to  go  up  the  river,  in  which  he  saw  fourteen 
islands,  distant  seven  or  eight  leagues  from  Isle  aux  Coudres 
on  the  south.  He  errs  somewhat  in  this  estimation,  for  it 
is  not  more  than  three  leagues. t  He  also  says  that  the 
place  where  the  islands  are  is  the  commencement  of  the  land 
or  province  of  Canada,  and  that  he  reached  an  island  ten 
leagues  long  and  five  wide,  where  extensive  fisheries  are  car- 
ried on,  fish  being  here,  in  fact,  very  abundant,  especially  the 
sturgeon.  But  its  length  is  not  more  than  six  leagues,  and  its 
breadth  two, —  a  fact  well  recognized  now.  He  says  also  that 
he  anchored  between  this  island  and  the  main  land  on  the 
north,  the  smallest  passage,  and  a  dangerous  one,  where  he 
landed  two  savages  whom  he  had  taken  to  France,  and  that, 
after  stopping  in  this  place  some  time  with  the  people  of  the 
country,  he  sent  for  his  barques  and  went  farther  up  the  river 
with  the  tide,  seeking  a  harbor  and  place  of  security  for  his 
ships.  He  says,  farther,  that  they  went  on  up  the  river, 
coasting  along  this  island,  the  length  of  which  he  estimates  at 
ten  leagues ;  and  after  it  was  passed  they  found  a  very  fine 
and  pleasant  bay,  containing  a  little  river  and  bar  harbor, 
which  they  found   very  favorabte  for   sheltering  their  vessels. 

*  Cartier  discovered  the  Isle  of  Coudres,  that  is,  the  isle  of  filberts  or  l>azel-nuts,  on  ti]e 
6th  of  September,  1535. —  l-'ide  Cartier,  1545,  D'Avezac  ed  ,  Paris,  1863,  p  12  This  island 
is  five  nautical  miles  long,  which  agrees  with  the  statement  of  Chaniplam,  and  its  greatest 
width  is  two  miles  and  a  quarter. 

t  Notre  Dame  Day,  tour  de  nosire  dame,  should  read  "  Notre  Dame  Kve  "  Cartier 
says,  "  Le  sefitiesuie  iour  dudict  mays  ioiir  nostre-datiie,"  etc — Idetn,  p  12  Hnkluyt 
renders  it,  "  Tlie  seuenth  of  the  monetli  being  our  Ladees  euen  " —  Vol   in   p   265. 

t  As  Champlain  suggests,  these  islands  are  only  three  leagues  higher  up  the  river;  hut, 
as  they  are  oh  the  opposite  side,  they  could  not  be  compassed  m  much  less  than  seven  nr 
eight  leagues,  as  Cartier  estimates. 


m 


i8 

This  they  named  St.  ('roix,  since  he  arrived  there  on  this  day ; 
and  at  the  time  of  the  voyage  of  Cartier  the  place  was  called 
Stadaca,*  but  we  now  call  it  Quebec.  He  says,  also,  that  after 
he  had  examined  this  place  he  returned  to  get  his  vessels  for 
passing  the  winter  there. 

.\\>w  we  may  conclude,  accordingly,  that  the  distance  is 
only  five  leagues  from  the  Isle  aux  Coudres  to  the  Isle  of 
Orleans,!  at  the  western  extremity  of  which  the  river  is  very 
broad  ;  and  at  which  bay,  as  Cartier  calls  it,  there  is  no  other 
river  than  that  which  he  called  St.  Croix,  a  good  league 
distant  from  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  in  which,  at  low  tide,  there 
is  only  half  a  fathom  of  water.  It  is  very  dangerous  for 
vessels  at  its  mouth,  there  being  a  large  number  of  spurs ; 
that  is,  rocks  scattered  here  and  there.  It  is  accordingly 
necessary  to  place  buoys  in  order  to  enter,  there  being,  as  I 
have  stated,  three  fathoms  of  water  at  ordinary  tides,  and 
four  fathoms,  or  four  and  a  half  generally,  at  the  great  tides 
at  full  Hood.  It  is  only  fifteen  hundred  paces  from  our 
habitation,  which  is  higher  up  the  river ;  and,  as  I  have 
stated,  there  is  no  other  river  up  to  the  place  now  called  St. 
Croix  where  vessels  can  lie,  there  being  only  little  brooks. 
The  shores  are  Hat  and  dangerous,  which  Cartier  does  not 
mention  until  the  time  that  he  sets  out  from  St.  Croix,  now 
called  Quebec,  where  he  left  his  vessels,  and  built  his  place  of 
abode,  as  is  seen  from  what  follows. 

On  the  19th  of  September  he  set  out  from  St.  Croix, 
■where  his  vessels  were,  setting  sail  with  the  tide  up  the  river, 
which  they  found  very  pleasant,  as  well  on  account  of  the 
woods,  vines,  and  dwellings,  which  were  there  in  his  time,  as 
for  other  reasons.  They  cast  anchor  twenty-five  leagues 
from   the  entrance  to  the   land  of  Canada ,  t  that  is,  at  the 

•Tliiswas  an  error  in  transcribing,  Cartier  has  St-idacome.  I'lUe  Brief  RK- it,  1545, 
D'Avez-ic  ed.,  p.  14. 

t  The  distance,  according  to  Laune's  Ciiart,  is  at  least  twenty-six  nautical  miles 

X  Canada  at  this  time  was  regarded  by  the  Indians  as  a  limited  territory,  situated  at  or 
about  (Juebec.  Tliis  statement  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  Cartier,  thus  translated  by 
Hakluyt:  "  I  )onnacona  their  Lord  desired  our  Captame  the  next  day  to  come  and  see  Canada, 
which  he  promised  to  doe:  for  the  next  day  being  the  13  of  the  moneth,  he  with  all  his 
(lentiemen  and  the  fiftie  Mariners  very  well  appointed,  went  to  visite  Donnacona  and  his 
people,  about  a  league  from  our  ships  " 

Their  ships  were  at  this  time  at  St.  Croix,  a  short  distance  up  the  St.  Charles,  which  flows 
into  the  .St.  Lawrence  at  Quebec;  and  the  little  Indian  village,  or  camp,  which  Donnacona 
called  Canada,  was  at  Ouebec.  Other  passages  from  Cartier,  as  well  as  from  Jean  Alfonse, 
harmonize  with  this  whicii  we  have  cited  Canada  was  therefore  in  Cartier's  time  only  the 
name  of  a  very  small  territory' covered  by  an  Indian  vilLige.  When  it  became  the  centre  of 
French  interests,  it  assumed  a  wider  meaning.  The  St.  Lawrence  was  often  called  the  River 
of  Canada,  then  the  territory  on  its  shores,  and  finally  Canada  has  come  to  comprehend  the 
vast  IJritish  possessions  in  America  known  as  the  "  IJominion  of  Canada." 


ig 


'' 


western  extremity  of  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  so  called  by  Cartier. 
What  is  now  called  St.  Croix  was  then  called  Achelacy.  at  a 
narrow  pass  where  the  river  is  very  swift  and  dangerous  on 
account  of  the  rocks  and  other  things,  and  which  can  only 
be  passed  at  Hood-tide.  Its  distance  from  ()uebec  and  the 
river  where  Cartier  wintered  is  fifteen  leagues. 

Now,  throughout  the  entire  extent  of  this  river,  from 
Quebec  to  the  great  fall,  there  are  no  narrows  except  at  the 
place  now  called  St.  Croix,  the  name  of  which  has  been 
transferred  from  one  place  to  another  one,  which  is  very  dan- 
gerous, ^is  my  description  shows.  And  it  is  very  apparent, 
from  his  narrative,  that  this  was  not  the  site  of  his  habitation, 
as  is  claimed,  but  that  the  latter  was  near  Quebec,  and  that 
no  one  had  entered  into  a  special  investigation  of  this  matter 
before  my  doing  so  in  my  voyages.  For  the  first  time  I  was 
told  that  he  dwelt  in  this  place,  I  was  greatly  astonished,  find- 
ing no  trace  of  a  river  for  vessels,  as  he  states  there  was. 
This  led  me  to  make  a  careful  examination,  in  order  to 
remove  the  suspicion  and  doubt  of  many  persons  in  regard 
to  the  matter.* 


ill 
Mi 


'545. 


The  first  explorer  of  the  American  coast  in  the  service  of  France  was  tlie  Florentine  Ver- 
razzano,  in  1524.  His  account  of  his  voyage  is  given  in  Old  South  Leaflet  No.  17.  This 
account  is  the  subject  of  much  controverfy;  out,  if  it  is  to  be  relied  on,  Verrazzano  explored 
the  coast  from  a  point  a  little  south  ot  Cape  Hatteras,  northward  a.s  far  as  Newfoundland,  at 
various  points  penetrating  several  leagues  into  the  Cduntry.  Ten  years  later,  in  1534,  came 
Jacques  Cartier.  He  steered  for  Newfoundland,  and,  believing  that  he  was  on  the  way  to 
Cathay,  advanced  up  the  St.  Lawrence  till  he  saw  the  shores  of  Anticosti,  when,  the 
autumnal  storms  gathering,  he  returned  to  France.  The  next  year  he  came  again,  with  three 
vessels.  He  gave  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence  to  a  small  bay  opposite  the  island  of  Anticosti, 
a  name  afterwards  extended  to  the  entire  gulf  and  to  the  great  river  above.  CJartier  calls  the 
river  the  "  kiver  of  Hochelaga,"  or  "  the  great  river  of  Canada.''  He  confines  the  name  of 
Canada  to  a  district  extending  from  the  Isle  aux  Coudres  in  the  .St  Lawrence  to  a  point  some 
distance  above  the  site  of  Quebec.  The  country  below,  he  says,  was  called  by  the  Indians 
Saguenay,  and  that  above  Hochelaga.  He  visited  the  site  of  Quebec,  and  ascended  the 
river  to  a  place  which  he  called  Afout  Royal,  Montreal.  He  wintered  at  Stadacone  ((Juebec), 
and  the  next  summer  returned  to  France  He  came  again  in  1541 ;  and  Roberval  came,  and 
La  Roche,  and  others.     It  was  in  ifKij  that  Champlain  first  appeared  upon  the  scene. 

Samuel  de  Champlain  was  born  in  15^)7  at  the  small  seaport  of  Ilrouage,  on  the  Ray  of 
Riscay.  His  father  was  a  captain  in  tlie  royal  navy,  where  he  himself  seems  also  to  have 
served;  and  he  had  fought  for  Henry  IV  in  Hnttany  He  also  went  to  the  West  Indies  in 
the  service  of  the  king;  and  Ins  manuscript  account,  with  over  sixty  crude  colored  pictures, 
still  exists.  He  came  to  Canada  in  1603  with  I'ontgrave,  penetrating  as  far  as  Montreal.  In 
1604  he  came  with  De  Monts,  exploring  the  .\ova  .Scotia  coast,  and  establishing  a  settlement 
on  an  islet  which  they  named  St.  Croix,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  now  bearing  that  name. 
The  next  spring  De  Monts  and  Champlain,  leaving  St.  Croix  in  a  little  bark  with  twenty  men, 


*  The  locality  of  Cartier's  winter-quarters  is  established  by  Champlain  with  the  certainty 
of  an  historical  demonstration,  and  yet  there  are  to  be  found  those  whose  judgment  is  so 
warped  by  precrncei\'ed  opinum  that  they  resist  the  overwhelming  testimony  whidi  he  brings 
to  bear  upon  the  subject.  Charlevoix  makes  the  .St.  Croix  of  Cartier  the  Riviire  de  Jacques 
Cartier. —  I'lde  Shea's  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.  p.  116. 


lit 


f  r 

f  . 

•if    ■ 

20 


tailed  down  tlic  New  Kngland  coast  ax  far  as  Nausett  ]larbor,  on  Cape  Cod.  passing  Mount 
Iiesert  and  tlie  mouths  ol  the  Fenol)%tot  and  the  Kennel)ec,  crossing  Casco  l!.i\ ,  and  descry- 
ing the  distant  peaks  o<  the  White  Mountains,  pnssin)^  the  Isles  of  Slioals  and  Cajie  Ann,  aiid 
cnteruiK  Massachusetts  May,  giving  the  name  of  Uiviere  du  Guast  to  a  river  tlowing  into  it, 
probably  the  Cliarles.  Chaniplain  describes  the  islands  of  lioston  (tarbor  as  covered  with 
trees,  and  says  they  were  met  by  great  numbers  of  canoes  tilled  with  astonished  Indians. 
They  passed  I'oint  Alierton  and  Nantasket  Heach,  and  took  shelter  in  I'nit  St.  Louis,  as 
they  called  the  harbor  of  I'lyinouth,  where  the  Pilgrims  landed  fifteen  years  later.  The  next 
summer  Chaniplain  came  down  the  coast  again,  this  time  as  far  as  the  neighborhood  of  Flyan- 
nis;  and  always  and  everywhere  he  made  maps  and  charts  and  pictures,  many  of  which  have 
come  down  to  us,  and  have  the  highest  historical  value. 

In  i'ki.S  Chaniplain  came  from  France  the  third  time,  now  with  the  distinct  purpo.se  of 
establislung  a  settlement  on  the  St.  I.awrer.ce  as  a  centre  of  operations  for  the  French  in 
Canada.  The  founding  ol  Quebec  followed,  as  detailed  in  the  present  leatlet.  The  story  can 
be  followed  further  in  Tiis  account  of  his  "  Voyages,"  from  which  this  extract  is  taken.  With 
the  story  of  his  explorations  and  adventures  in  C^anada  for  the  next  (juarter  iA  a  ( entury,  his 
discovery  of  Lake  Chaniplain,  his  Indian  wars,  his  discovery  of  Lake  Huruii,  his  surrender 
of  (Juebec  to  the  Flnglish  in  if^2(),  his  visit  to  London  and  the  restoration  of  Canada  to  the 
French  crown,  and  his  death  in  ift^i  in  Quebec  which  he  had  founded,  the  siudent  of  history 
is  familiar.     No  man  did  more  to  plant  and  spread  the  power  of  Frame  in  America. 

Champlain's  books,  says  I'arkman,  "mark  the  man, —  all  for  his  theme  and  his  purpose, 
nothing  for  himself.  Crude  in  style,  full  of  the  superiicial  errors  of  carelessness  and  haste, 
rarely  diffuse,  often  brief  to  a  fault,  they  bear  on  ever)'  page  the  palpable  impress  of  truth.'' 
We  are  most  fortunate  in  having  a  fine  translation  of  Champlain's  accounts  of  liis  various 
"  Voyages,"  by  Charles  Fomeroy  Otis,  Ph  1),  with  historical  illustrations  and  a  memoir  by 
Kev.  Edmund  F.  Slafter,  who  is  the  great  American  authority  upon  Chaniplain  and  his 
work.  The  three  volumes,  which  are  pimlished  by  the  Prince  Society,  are  eiiiiched  by  copies 
of  all  the  local  and  general  maps  and  drawings  in  the  early  French  editions,  most  curious  and 
interesting;  and  the  work  is  of  priceless  value  to  tUe  Knglisli  student  of  Clinmnlain.  It  is 
from  the  account  of  the  voyage  of  1608,  in  the  second  volume,  that  the  story  of  the  founding 
of  Quebec,  given  in  the  present  leatlet,  is  taken 

Mr.  Slafter  is  also  the  author  of  the  fine  chapter  upon  Chaniplain,  in  the  "  Narrative  and 
Critical  History  ol  America,"  vol.  ii.j  and  the  special  stutent  is  referred  to  li;s  critical  essay 
on  the  sources  of  information,  appended  to  that  chapter.  This  entire  second  volume  of  the 
"  Narrative  and  Critical  History"  is  devoted  to  the  subject  of  French  Explorations  in  North 
America.  To  the  general  subject  of  "France  and  England  in  North  America"  our  great 
historian,  Francis  Farkman,  devoted  the  work  of  his  whole  lite;  and  his  volume  on 
"  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World"  contains  the  most  graphic  and  interesting  account 
whicb  exists  of  Champlain's  life  and  work.  The  Old  South  lectures  for  i88(;,  under  the  title 
of  "  America  and  P'rance,"  were  entirely  devoted  to  subjects  in  which  the  history  of  America 
is  related  to  that  of  France,  the  first  lecture  b>iing  upon  "Chaniplain,  the  Founder  of 
Quebec  "  ;  and  the  student  is  referred  to  the  full  list  of  those  lectures  and  the  accompanying 
leaflets.  One  of  the  subjects  for  the  Old  South  essays  for  i8()S  is  "The  Struggle  of  France 
and  England  for  North  America,  from  the  Founding  of  Quebec  by  Chaniplain  tiilthe  Capture 
of  Quebec  by  Wolfe." 


